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  <title>Chapter 21</title>
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            <h1 class="title">Chapter 21</h1>
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          <h2 class="subtitle">Belah</h2>
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      <p class="first first-in-chapter first-full-width"><span class="first-letter first-letter-l">L</span>ukas appeared naked in front of her and cupped her face.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“This is what you want?” he asked. “Should I get my candles?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“It is,” Belah said. “And you can do whatever you want, as long as I’m bound.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“We’ll be gentle,” Lukas said. He leaned in, and Belah gladly opened up for his kiss.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Don’t lie to her, brother,” Iszak said. “It’ll be as rough as we need it to be, but I have a feeling that’s what you’d rather have, isn’t it, Belah? You’re going to feel so much pleasure it’ll blow your mind, but we’re going to get one thing straight first. You’re going to submit to us the way your kind does to you. By ‘you,’ I mean the Dragon Council. I’ve met a few dragons who broke your laws, so I’ve heard stories. If you want to tell me I’m wrong, please feel free to explain, but at the very least, tell me you understand.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Belah balked, then was rudely reminded of her bindings when a knot dug in hard between her shoulder blades. Behind her, Lukas’s warmth came close and she felt him kneel between her legs. His warm cock brushed against her ass as his lips went to her ears.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Do you submit?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“To submit in the manner you ask would be no punishment,” Belah said. “Because it would mean being allowed to neither give, nor receive pleasure from anyone besides those I submit to, for as long as they choose to dominate me.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">She gazed up at Iszak, her eyelids fluttering when Lukas’s hands slid around her waist and up to cup her breasts and tease her nipples. “That sounds perfect. So, do you submit?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Before her, Iszak moved closer, the delicious aroma of his arousal mere inches from her lips. He reached down and cupped her cheek, stroking his thumb across her lower lip.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Promise you submit to me and Lukas, and only to us.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“I submit to only you, Iszak North and Lukas North, as my true and fated mates. I will take pleasure in no other partner without your leave until Fate decrees my days on this earth are done.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak let out a groan of pleasure that spilled into his gaze. “Fuck, your voice is beautiful when you say all the right words. Shame you won’t be using that mouth to speak for a good long while. Open up, baby.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">His thumb slipped beyond her lip and pressed against the top of her lower teeth, but Belah was ready. When he moved his hand away, she darted her tongue out and captured that sparkling droplet from the tip of his cock before it could fall onto the carpet beneath her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas’s arm tightened around her shoulders, holding her steady and guiding her just close enough to tease her tongue around Iszak’s tip. With his free hand, Lukas brushed her hair away from her shoulder and twisted it up tight around his palm, holding firmly as she wrapped her lips around Iszak’s cock and slid her mouth down his thick length.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“That’s my girl,” Lukas murmured. “Let him have a good dose of that tongue.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas’s hand remained tangled in her hair, and he guided her movements while Iszak thrust his hips forward, his own hands light on the back of her neck and at her cheek.</p>
      <p class="subsq">When she uncoiled her tongue and wrapped it entirely around Iszak’s cock, he jerked and let out a rough, incoherent sound. His fingers dug hard into the back of her neck, and his other hand trembled at the side of her face.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Fucking hell, that’s good. Jesus.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Belah tilted her head just enough to see up his torso while her tongue swirled and flicked along his entire length, working to pull the power from him that had built to a nearly blinding brightness ever since she’d said, “I submit.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">His eyes blazed with the need for release, and Belah could sense him at the knife’s edge, but he gritted his teeth and restrained himself, just as her pets used to do when she was a pharaoh. He’d left her aching and empty for his Nirvana, and now he was building up as much of that potent energy as he could before giving it to her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas still held her from behind, his own hips rocking against her hard enough that the entire length of his cock was pressed along the crease of her ass, working deeper with every second and rubbing against slick, sensitive flesh.</p>
      <p class="subsq">They were both on the verge of Nirvana, their auras so swollen with the power she could taste it. And she needed it. Sweet Mother, she needed them both to give her that energy, or she thought the void of need inside her would swallow her whole.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas released his hold just enough for her to lean forward, and when she did, his cock slipped until his tip was solidly between the parted lips of her hungry pussy.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“No moving,” he said gruffly, his chest against her back while he slid into her. “I want to feel you come around my cock while you swallow what Iszak gives you.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas released her hair and his hand slid between her thighs while he began fucking her slow and deep. His fingers found her clit just as the head of his cock pressed into the core of her pleasure, sending ecstasy climbing through her body.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak’s gaze was hot with lust, his cock throbbing as she took him fully into her mouth over and over, savoring the smooth stroke of him against her tongue.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“You’re hungry for my power, aren’t you? Suck me, baby. That’s right.” His rough voice vibrated through her and she increased her tempo, sucking harder, aching for another taste of his sweet essence, and even more for the energy of his orgasm to fill her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas’s fingers strummed her clit like a master, the rapture of his cock fucking into her making it hard for her to care about the chasm that lay open inside her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak clutched the back of her neck, fucking her mouth with abandon. His cock pulsed and he let out a low growl as jets of hot semen landed on her tongue. The salty tang of him slid down her throat, and even sweeter was the flood of power that finally eased the ache of deprivation from before.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas pushed her farther forward, his free hand holding the ropes that criss-crossed in the center of her back. She was grateful for her tethers to the rafters above, otherwise she’d have fallen on her face. But Iszak was there, too, kneeling in front of her and holding her shoulders while he bent to tease her nipples with his tongue.</p>
      <p class="subsq">She breathed in his musky scent, the blend of his aroma with Lukas’s and the scent of sex driving her ever closer to her own Nirvana. Lukas’s cock drove deep, over and over, each stroke sending fresh spikes of pleasure into her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">With his mouth at her breasts, Iszak shifted his hand between Belah’s thighs, picking up the strumming attention on her clit where Lukas had left off.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Come for me, Belah,” Lukas said. “I need to feel you come around my cock.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">At his words, she was flying, her head tilted back and a resonant cry escaping her throat. Lukas let out a soft curse behind her and jerked her hips back against him. He buried himself deep and held tight as his cock pulsed in her tight channel, her sensitized flesh alive with the feel of his power surging into her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Still dizzy from her orgasm, she relished the deep kisses they each gave her. Both men’s auras shimmered with satisfaction, their tender touches filled with love and gratitude for her very existence.</p>
      <p class="subsq">But before she had a chance to reclaim her wits, she felt the pull of the ropes and her view shifted as she was raised into the air. A moment later she was positioned as though seated in a swing made of a giant spider’s web. Her legs were still splayed wide and the ropes that bound them were damp from her juices where they crossed her inner thighs.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak finished securing her tethers to a cleat attached to a nearby wooden post, then moved to stand in front of her, luminous from the dose of her Nirvana he’d just received. “You didn’t think we’d be done with you that easily, did you?” he asked with a pleased smile.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Belah gave him a slow shake of her head and sighed, elated at how determined these two men were to please her to exhaustion. “Whatever you wish of me is yours for the taking,” she said.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Tonight isn’t over until we’re fully mated. Your submission was only the prelude. By the end of the night, you’re going to be so full of both our power and our seed, there’s no way you won’t also be carrying a child by one of us.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Belah’s heart leapt. The possibility of another child had been so far from her mind since she’d arrived, she’d barely considered it.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“You would want that?” she asked. “You have to know I’ve given birth to several children in my lifetime.” Two of whom still lived, in the clutches of her old lover and mortal enemy.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Belah,” Lukas said, tut-tutting beside her. His hand reached around her waist and swung her so she spun to face him. “You’re holding back. Tell us the truth about what you really want.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">She clenched her eyes shut, cursing herself for the slip of hidden truth. But children were a sore subject, so there was no way to avoid it, if that was what they wanted—and their ability to easily read a lie, or even the smallest omission of the truth, was beyond infuriating. She sighed and managed a shrug against her bindings.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“The truth is that I want to carry your baby more than you could believe, but there’s something else I want just as much.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas frowned, and Iszak moved around to face her next to his brother. He brushed an errant strand of hair off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“What is it? You know we will give you anything within our power to give, Belah.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Shaking her head, she said, “This is beyond even two Princes of the North Wind, I’m afraid. Two of my beloved babies were taken from me, ages ago. They were locked into hibernation in a secret place by my Mother and Fate. Their origins … well, their origins are the reason they were taken from me. I’ve broken our own laws more than a dragon of my stature ever should.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak frowned. “Please tell us that mating me and Lukas and having our child isn’t breaking any laws …”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“No! My siblings and I are all in agreement on this. We’re all seeking mates among the higher races now. It’s a matter of survival for us all. Something grave is on the horizon—we don’t know its nature. We think it’s something the Ultiori have planned, but there’s no way to tell.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">That was at least the truth. There was also no way to know whether killing Nikhil would end it. She hoped it would, or that she would at least be able to glean some bit of intelligence from him when she gave him a week with her body, but if Fate wished her and her siblings to conceive hybrid offspring with the other higher races, that either meant she would fail her mission to kill Nikhil so soon, or that he wasn’t the true threat.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Belah …” Iszak said, admonishing her introspection.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“One of the children—my son—was conceived with my brother, Ked.” She inhaled a deep, shaky breath, waiting for the horror to fill their eyes, but their frowns only deepened and they shared a quick glance before Iszak nodded for her to go on.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“We were young dragons, barely a century old. Mother had insisted that we choose humans—and only humans—to mate and breed with. But the humans at the time were primitive, their minds weak. They broke so easily, it seemed barbaric to continue mating with them when we had each other. We didn’t know what the child would be. Zorion—our son—was too powerful to come of age when our race was so young—when the human race was so fragile and the magic in the world so new. So Mother took him away as a babe and promised he’d be kept safe. I only held him in my arms for a few days before I had to let him go. My baby boy.” Tears pricked at her eyes, making their faces blur.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“And the other child?” Lukas asked gently.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Belah expelled a long breath in an attempt to clear her head. She dreaded their reactions to the confession to come.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“The other child taken from me is Nikhil’s daughter, conceived out of love the night we wed—the night he lost me and became what he is today. He hasn’t always been a monster, but he needs to be dealt with, and soon. Before he learns what she is to him.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Both men let out harsh curses and Belah braced herself for some kind of tirade—for them to cut her down and send her away—but nothing of the sort happened.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak pressed a gentle kiss to her brow and Lukas cupped the side of her face, brushing away the tears that were spilling down her cheeks.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“They’re your children. We may not have the power to help you find them at this moment, but once we’re mated, we’ll help however we can. In the meantime, what we <i>can</i> do is make love to you so hard we fill you with another, one that will never be taken from you. More than one, if you want.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">In front of her, Lukas’s cock twitched again and she raised her eyebrows at him, laughing through her tears.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas grinned and cupped himself. “What can I say? The idea of filling you with babies is such a fucking turn-on.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Then let me mark you now. The seed you put in me already isn’t doing me any good without a mark.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Should we untie you?” Iszak asked.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Only if you’re finished with me. I can mark you both easily if you come close enough.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Sweetness, we’ll be so close you’ll forget your name,” Iszak growled.</p>
      <p class="subsq">The brothers flanked her, navigating the tethers that supported her suspended form. Though the ropes dug in to the underside of her thighs and ass, she loved how weightless it made her feel to be bound this way, particularly when their arms went around her on either side, and their renewed caresses brought a fresh sigh of pleasure to her lips.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas bent his head to her breast and she gazed down at the side of his arched neck—the perfect place for a mark. He lifted his head to face her again, and she enjoyed how wild his gaze was, as well as how hard his cock had become as it brushed against the outside of her thigh. She leaned forward and brushed her lips over his stubbled cheek, her core heating in response to the velvet stroking of his cock against her skin.</p>
      <p class="subsq">She lowered her head, pressing her lips to the side of his neck, flicking out her tongue to taste the salt of dried sweat and musk, and to trace a precursor to the true mark with her tongue. Lukas stiffened when her tongue lashed at his skin a second time, swiftly branding her magic into him. Dragon marks were never a painless affair, but the pain would dissipate quickly once her magic took full effect. When it was done, she pulled back and watched as the circular pattern healed, leaving behind a shimmering blue shape that pulsed brightly.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“You <i>are</i> ready to breed me, aren’t you, Lukas?” she whispered, her heart pounding over the significance of the moment.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“I’ve been ready most of my life, baby,” he said, rubbing his hand lightly over the side of his neck.</p>
      <p class="subsq">She turned to Iszak, tilting her head to gaze up into his stormy eyes. He cupped her face in both hands and kissed her slowly.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“I’m ready, too,” he said against her mouth. “And it’s about damn time.” He turned his head, presenting his neck to her so she could mark him on the opposite side from where she’d marked Lukas. Belah kissed the tawny, corded muscles of his throat.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“I think this side suits you best,” she said, remembering how the pair of them stood on stage, back-to-back, and played for her. The next time they played together like that, their marks would be seen by all.</p>
      <p class="subsq">While her mouth was pressed to Iszak’s neck, Lukas dipped down beneath her suspended body. A moment later, the warmth of Lukas’s lips brushed along her inner thigh, moving higher. She moaned softly against Iszak’s neck when his brother’s hot tongue found her core and began slowly lapping at her sensitive folds. He teased at every crease and swirled his tongue around her clit until she was quivering with fresh need.</p>
      <p class="subsq">When Iszak’s mark glowed bright, pale blue, he sank to his knees beside his brother and added his tongue to the sweet torture Lukas had begun. They parted her wide, taking turns sucking and licking, but never quite pushing her over the edge. Men after her own heart, they seemed to love keeping her on the precipice, as though they knew just as well as she did how the power built up inside when release was kept at bay.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Belah was nearly bursting with it when the brothers rose again, their chins glistening with her essence and their fresh dragon marks glowing with their desire to breed with her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">She didn’t need to speak for them to grasp her desperation to have them inside her. Lukas was the first to come to her, embracing her swinging body and devouring her mouth with a ravenous kiss. His cock pressed against her belly but he didn’t immediately seek to penetrate her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Another pair of arms wrapped around her from behind and Iszak’s muscular chest pressed against her back, sandwiching her still-bound arms between them. He trailed more kisses from her neck down to her shoulders, biting gently at first, then more urgently as his hard cock rubbed against her backside.</p>
      <p class="subsq">When Lukas pulled back from the kiss, she felt an urgent grip on her neck and turned just enough in Iszak’s arms to meet his gaze behind her. Her mouth was immediately overtaken by his lips and tongue, and he kissed her as though he were starved for some sustenance only she could provide.</p>
      <p class="subsq">She switched between them, kissing one, then the other, while their hands roamed her body. With her mouth tangled with one of theirs, the other man’s mouth teased her nipples, and both pairs of their hands touched and caressed all over.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Jesus, Belah, I need to be inside you. Can’t stand it anymore.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Yes,” she answered, though she wasn’t sure which man had spoken she was so dizzy from desire. “I want you both—together—a duet, yes? Please…” She trailed off with a desperate sound that turned into a low moan of appreciation when one cock pierced her core to the hilt before pulling out again, then another cock went in hard.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Two separate arms held her torso while their other hands held her thighs wide. One pair of hips filled the space between her legs and the other pressed against her backside, both cocks sliding against her slick, sensitive core.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Their gazes were fixed between her thighs, mouths slightly open and panting harsh breaths as they found synchronicity and plunged into her together. Both hot, hard cocks filled her tight channel as one, and Belah threw her head back and sang out in ecstasy.</p>
      <p class="subsq">They penetrated her together and thrust deep. The sensation sent Belah into a kind of oblivion, a surrender to love and pleasure, but it was like no other oblivion she’d consigned herself to before. The blazing light of their marks reminded her that they were hers, body and soul, but they were their own men, too. No other mate had ever left her bed sane, least of all the one man she’d deliberately avoided marking for the purpose of preserving his mind.</p>
      <p class="subsq">These two men were fully present, aware, and completely intent on mating with her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">They quickly found a constant, punishing rhythm with their cocks driving deep in tandem. They filled her like she’d never been filled before, their auras swelling and encompassing her in the power of the Wind. She surrendered completely to them both, letting their power carry her to her peak—the highest she had ever reached in her long life. Lukas and Iszak were both right there with her at the pinnacle of pleasure, their essences spilling deep inside her as they climaxed.</p>
      <p class="subsq">The magic filled her yet again, and in the hazy aftermath, she wished with her entire being that they would give her another child, because she didn’t know if she could endure leaving them long enough to give Nikhil what he wanted.</p>
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